The present invention relates generally to paperboard containers and pallets, and more particularly to an integrated paperboard container and pallet system having a collapsible walled section facilitating the shipping of the system when unassembled.
Heretofore, pallets used by the shipping industries for the storage or transportation of a variety of goods generally have been constructed out of a wood material. These wooden pallets, however, are known to have a definite usable life, and, thereafter, must be disposed of in an acceptable manner such as in a landfill or the like. Increasingly, the use of wooden pallets has become an environmental issue as the amount of usable landfill space continues to decline. The disposal problem is magnified when it is considered that large assembly plants, such as automobile plants and the like, generated literally thousands upon thousands of wooden pallets.
The art, then, has turned to pallets fabricated of paperboard materials such as corrugated cardboard and the like, which are generally considered to be more recyclable than wood. Paperboard pallets of such a type are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,444, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,154.
In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that alternatives to the banded containers heretofore known in the art would be well received by the shipping and manufacturing industries. A preferred alternative would incorporate the advantages of the paperboard pallets described hereinbefore in being inexpensive, recyclable, and easy to assembly, and desirably would be collapsible for efficient storage and shipment.